Well fixture seal



Sept. 18, 1951 F. H. PoTTBERG ETAL WELL FIXTURE SEAL Filed Dec. 14, 1948 G mmf WPC #05M W B ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 18, 1951 2,568,301 'WELLHXTURESEAL Aiifiijlieittigeiigneceiiiber'14, lsieseiialiwo,#5,124 s claims. 1(01. 2x5-'e305 iThe l"riain objeot of rour'irWeritio'n,"is to VY'provigeha novel form ofc fixture rconfneetintofa "side Holein the Wall of Athee-asofin arigidly-'iixedjnd fiii'idtight conitrieut tHe-,necessity oftiie-eding-tiie'htiie.

Wit iiiig 'member 4with p ssure thereon in' or- "mernber and produce 'A further` objt is'fto "p'rovide 'an *adapter with an endA portion extending through thefsid'eihole intheivell 'eas'iig vi7v'.fill`"a,d serving t'o fcooperate with any oiitefr collar `fto form "al pressure 'cham'- Brfo'rreeeiving a lresilient pressure member and a pressure ring for exerting pressure on thelpressie r'rioerfndthelvfornine a'seal'between the adapter and the well casing. K I It is also an Qbj't Mto f'provide substantially simple vet very veifetive lr'means Vfor "quickl'yfL iid- 1A practical object is, ofcourse, `to have but a,`few Asiniple parts associated-fto 'forrn the connectionftotheiwell without sacrifieing'any advan- Smail numbei'of; parte Other olziifeets fd advantages. 'oi lthein'i/fention Willgappear inr further detail as the'specification proceeds.,

'Inoijder to faoilitatelready comprehension ofthis invention for -ajproper appreciation Qi the salient features thereof, theV invention is Yillustrat'ed 'on the. accorripariying`V drawing forming part hereoian'd in Whalen:

Figure V'1f :is anelevation -of la well fixture. made a'ec'orfding-"to the 'invention 'and embodying the same 'a lpractice1i-'form, the fixture 'being i ap'- Ljliedftoa well'csfing 'viewed from the upperiend thereof,parts Abeing broken Aevvayfto -disclose constltictin'al details and relations of parts;

Figure-2 is a transverse section taken lon line 2 -"2 /iniFiure 1;

Figure `3 is aseetion'f the'prolecollar formin'g the outer Eval-1 lf; 'aLA pressure Chamber in the f illle assembly andiresilit prssii-reorsealin'g ttigej 'of 'the invention de to' the "Simplicity or l member adapted: tov fitv 'Within theY mentioned rproie collar;

Figure 4f is a :side elevation fthe'atiapter 'alone whieh forins Tlthe Basic element of 'the 'xture f Fgule'l' Intlie-viewsjthe same reier'ence'numera'ls i'n-' dicate the sarl'ne'or lileparts. Itis frequently desirable to xnake pipe conneetiens te Ewen casiii'gsY and `pipes of largeurameter through the vv'alls thereof, but it is al- Ways avpp'roblem to Irialge anjeiectiveand'fluidtight 'c'zoniiectio'n'therewithl Despite 'the problern involved,A itis often Vactually necessary 'to make-'suela Connections to 'Well casings below the frost li"ein'tllie"groiindiin Garder to obtain'Water,v

for eX mpl'e, 'Quririgfthescold season, and 'alsof' teinakefeiiiieeties teeiiweii easirigs and the like. l

the :problem involved: in making' such `in-- neetioiie 'effettive 'tip-u 'fluid 'tigiit unavoidable; we have crisideredtlie s amefand"asa'resulthave siie'ceeed in proidii'cinga "Well lixtur-'e 'with a seal combined therewith `and'orrning part'and parcelftheieof, Wl'iieh ensures atightfconnection'betweenthe 'nxtiireantl the well casing involved, as will 'nwfbe more fully described.

Henkie, in' thepractice of'our'inventiomand re` to'itthe larger outer' diameter of a'taperingf skirt portionk lu'pon'the inner end of an adapterfg'enerally indicated "at '81; the interior of the "skirt portion 1 at- 9 forming :a bore "free from threads to providey 'a clearan'e 'space for an externallythi'e'aded nipple "'Ifscrevied into the internal threads n ofthe "adapter immediately Awithin thel clearance 'here' '9 thereofj'theinner end'nf vnijpie lo'abuttingitheimierfshouider l2 within'the internally-'threaded portion `I I "of the adapter.V Externallyviipori .adapter 8 is a threadil 3 'extentiingfrom the `inner end 14 of tperin'gfskirtpor'- tion 1 "eL-iid iiitermeiateiyelocated shoulder '15;

beygne which tire fadaptri nasen 'externally'- red'ed dalit'er and haisfa. pipe thra'dfl for coiineptiqn' to 'e tipe union, orieibow, as nay te reiqiiiiet1.` V

When 'the adapter '8 is l-thrust into the aperture 6 in the Wall'ioi ivell casing 5 from theoiits'ile thereof with xteriiaiiyethreaded nipple prefettiiig into ltrie interior of fthefasing, 'ani-ritertroduction of the fixture into the hole 6 in the well casing wall may, of course, be carried out in another manner, if so desired. It is possible, and even practical in some cases, to rst screw nipple I into the interior thread 20 of end I9 of the nipple and while holding flange 2| thereof against the interior wall 22 of the well casing with the outer end of the nipple projecting out through aperture 6, then screwing on the adapter upon the outwardly-projecting end of nipple I0 until the skirt portion 1 extends into the side hole 6 in the well casing, and either comes into contact with the flanged end 2I of nipple I8 or is spaced but a short distance therefrom. As thus far described, it is self-evident that the xture will not provide a fluid-tight connection between the flange 2| of elbow I8 and the inner surface 22 of the well casing, even when the nipple IU interconnects the elbow with adapter 8, which projects almost Wholly outside the Well casing.

In order to provide a perfect seal between the adapter and the well casing 5, the skirt portion 1 is surrounded by a resilient compression member or sealing ring 23 preferably made of artificial rubber or plastic of the Vinylite series, or of the resilient material known as neoprene. The inner end 24 of ring or sealing member 23 is preferably arcuately profiled to fit the curvature of the exteriorsurface of well casing 5, and externally of the sealing member or ring is mounted a pressure ring or collar 25 having the inner end thereof similarly profiled arcuately at 25 to t the curved surface of well casing 5. Fitting loosely about thread I3 on the adapter exteriorly of the end of sealing member 23 is a short pressure ring 21. The external diameter of pressure ring 21 is such that it is capable of tting smoothly within the outer pressure ring 25 to bear against the outer end of the resilient member 23 within the pressure collar 25. In other words, the resilient pressure member 23 occupies a pressure chamber formed between the skirt 1 and the outer pressure collar 25 with pressure ring 21 providing the pressure in an axial direction against the end of the rubber or neoprene member 23. A nut 28, which is internally threaded, is screwed upon the larger thread I3 on adapter 8 with the inner face 29 thereof bearing axially against pressure ring 21 and screwed tightly on the thread so that considerable pressure is exerted by ring 21 against the resilient sealing member 23, with the result that this sealing member tends to spread very tightly inwardly against the well casing 5, against the outer surface of skirt 1 and radially outward against the inner interior of pressure collar 25, the pressure being produced by the tension exerted upon the inner nipple ID with the flange 2l bearing very forcibly against the interior surface 22 of well casing 5, while nut 28 through pressure ring 21 and resilient pressure member or sealing ring 23 bears against the exterior surface of well casing 5. The ultimate result is that the entire fixture including the adapter and the parts just enumerated, as well as the nipple I 8, are held very rigidly in place with the resilient sealing ring 23 sufli'ciently distorted to completely ll the space between skirt 1 and outer pressure collar 25 in radial directions and axially between well casing and the inner end of pressure ring 21 under great pressure, thoroughly sealing the connection between adapter apron 1 and the well casing.

The reduced threaded portion I6 is provided with a reduced bore 30 which communicates with the interior 3I of nipple I0, which in turn communicates with the interior 32 of elbow I8, thus providing a continuous passage for fluid from within the well out through the reduced portion I6 into whatever pipes may be connected thereto. It is, of course, intended that the lower inner end 33 of the elbow I8 will be connected to pipes depending downwardly into the interior I1 of the well casing 5 to the water or oil level, so that uid may be obtained from the interior of the well through the xture above described. If the fluid passing through elbow I8, nipple I0 and adapter 8 is under pressure, it is evident that there will be no leakage between elbow I8, adapter 8 on the one hand, and well casing 5 on the other hand, due to the compressed condition of the sealing member 23.

It is, of course, possible to make the nipple I0 integral with the adapter by simply having the inner end of the nipple forming an integral, externally-threaded projection extending from the end of apron 1, if so desired, this modification being obvious upon mere mention and superfluous to illustrate, and necessitating no change whatever in the external form of the adapter, the apron, sealing member 23 and the pressure collar and ring.

The arcuate profile forms of the inner ends 24 and 26 of the sealing ring 23 and outer pressure collar 25 are, of course, shaped to conform to the particular size of the well casing 5 which may be drilled with the hole 6 for applying the fixture thereto. If desired, the elbow I8 may be of the typical galvanized type, while nipple I0 may be of brass or bronze, if so desired. On the other hand, the adapter may be of bronze or steel which is also true of pressure collar 25 and pressure ring 21.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully decribed our invention, We claim:

l. A well fixture seal for making a huid-tight connection with an internally-threaded end of a pipe elbow within a well casing through a side hole in the wall of the latter, which includes an adapter having a passage therethrough, a threaded intermediate portion on the adapter for receiving a nut thereon, an externally-threaded reduced outer end portion on the adapter beyond one end of the rst-mentioned threaded portion, and a skirt portion formed beyond the other end of said first-mentioned threaded portion serving to extend into the side hole in said wall casing, externally-threaded means of smaller external diameter than that of the skirt portion projecting beyond the latter through said hole into the interior of said well casing in a position to enter into threaded engagement with said internally-threaded end of said pipe elbow with said elbow engaging radially outward against the interior surface of said well casing, a resilient sealing ring surrounding the skirt portion of the adapter with one end contoured to t against the exterior round surface of the well casing, a rigid pressure collar surrounding the resilient sealing ring and having the inner end contoured to t against said exterior round surface of said well casing, and a pressure ring disposed between the nut and the outer end of said resilient sealing ring and extending into the outer end of said pressure collar for compressing said resilient sealing ring within the latter.

2. A well fixture seal for making a uid tight connection with an internally threaded end of a pipe elbow within a well casing through a side hole in the wall of the latter comprising a hollow adapter arranged exteriorly and transversely of said casing and having one end extending through said side hole and loosely supported in said hole, said adapter being internally threaded inwardly from said one end to a point adjacent to and spaced from the other end thereof, an externally threaded hollow nipple in threaded engagement with the internally threaded portion of said adapter and having one end projecting from said one end of said adapter, said projecting one end of said nipple being in threaded engagement with the internally threaded end of said pipe elbow, a resilient sealing ring surrounding said adapter and having one end bearing against the exterior surface of said casing adjacent said hole, and pressure applying means mounted on said adapter for movement into engagement with the other end of said sealing ring for sealingly securing said adapter to the portion of said casing adjacent said hole.

3. A well xture seal for making a fluid tight connection with an internally threaded end of a pipe elbow within a well casing through a side hole in the Wall of the latter comprising a hollow adapter arranged exteriorly and transversely of said casing and having one end extending through said side hole and loosely supported 1n said hole, said adapter being internally threaded inwardly fom said one end to a point adjacent to and spaced from the other end thereof, an externally threaded hollow nipple in threaded engagement with the internally threaded portion of said adapter and having one end projecting from said one end of said adapter, said projecting one end of said nipple being in threaded engagement with the internally threaded end of said pipe elbow, a resilient sealingring surrounding said adapter and having one end bearing against the exterior surface of said casing adjacent said hole, a pressure ring surrounding said adapter and having one end in engagement with the other end of said sealing ring, and a nut in threaded engagement with said adapter and movable into bearing engagement with the other end of said pressure ring.

FRED I-I. POTIBERG. RUDOLPH CLARENCE FREBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date '752,156 Hacker Feb. 16, 190,4 974,878 Gruschow Nov. 8, 1910 3,373,810 Churchill Apr. 1'7, 1945 

